Player-piano



' 1,384,993. Patented July 19,1921.

s. L. FISHER.

PLAYER PIANO. APPLICATION FILED AUG-4, WW.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

l I I l S. L. FISHER.

PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.4.- 1919.

1,384,993. Patented y 19, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S. L. FISHER.

PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.4. 1919.

1 3 4 993. Patented July 19, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES EPATENT oFFicE.

STANLEY L. FISHER, .OF CHESTER, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE PRATT READ PLAYER ACTION company, or nnnr RIVER,

CONNECTICUT.

CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION or PLAYER-PIANO.

Specification of 14mins Ratent.

Patented July 19, 1921.

Original application filed April 24, 1918 Serial No. 230,417. Divided and this application filed August 4, 1919. Serial No. 315,295.

To all whom it may a 7 Be it known that I, a subject of the ,King

concern:

ST NLnrL. F siinn, of Great Britain,

residing in Chester, county of "Middlesex, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fla er- Pianos, of which the following is a matically actuated type. wherein a so-called F upper action pianos of the upr ght or chest with its appurtenant valve mechanism and pneum atics for units of the piano operating the respective action proper extends across the front of the piano n the case thereof above the keyboard and in front of the piano action, each unit of the player action being properly connected with and adapted to operate of the piano action.

the corresponding unit Each piano action unit ordinarily comprises afhammer forstriking the string, a pivoted wippen or ack beam,

and a hammer ack in the customary m operated mounted on the wippen anner, the wippen be ng to actuate thehammer by a conncction with the corresponding player action unit for pneumatic playing, and said wippcn being connected with the corresponding key of the piano for playing by hand,

One of the primary objects of my invention is the provisionof an improved and simplified player action of the type set forth,

which has the vad compactness, accessibility low cost.

efficiency ,0 a for inspect on and repairs, and

Q em wn. ma y vantages of simpliclt A more specific object of the invention is to prov de an improved formof connect on between the striker pneumatics and the corresponding units of the piano action. By

my improvements,

th number of pa .1

terposed between each pneumatic and vthe corresponding piano action unitis cut down to a minimum, and .yet provision is made for easy and nice admst'ment of theparts, which can be readily carried out when the player action s installed in'the P183 of piano action it necessary to illustrate.

board (not shown) .so that the hammers will strike the strings uniformly.

Tothese and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described a l med- 1 i "In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a diagrammatic, vertical transverse section through the upper portion of a player piano embodying my improvements, showing the main parts of one of the piano action units and the wind chest, valve mechanism and striker pneumatics of the player action;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of one end portion of the pneumatic action as the same would appear detached from the piano;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the pneumatic action detached and partly broken away; and I I Fig. ;i is a bottom view of a part of the pneumatic player action.

In the practice of my invention, the piano action A can be, for the most part, of the usual type, although various changes may be inade'in this respect. In the embodiment illustrated, I have shown the ordinaryform unit, comprising a hammer 10 for striking thestring 11, pivoted at 12 to the rail 13, from which is pivotally sup ported at 1 1 the customary wippen 15 carrying the usual pivoted hammer jack 16 and other parts which I have not considered ,Pivoted to the wippen 15 near the outer end thereof at 17 is the customary sticker orabstract 18. All of these parts, as shown, are of the usual construction.

Extending across the front of the piano, in front of the piano action above the key- .is .a pneumatic player action, designated by reference character B. This pneumatic action B, or more accurately this upper player .action there beinga so- .called lower action (not shown) comprising pedal operated exhausting apparatus, etc., located beneath the key-board comprises a wind ,chestYlt) connected at one end by the duct 20 with the pressure reducing apparatus, a plurality of striker pneumatics 21, 22, for actuating the respective units of the piano action A, and a plurality of valves 23 in the wind chest for controlling the operation of the pneumatics. The valves 23 are mounted within the elongated block28, the rear of which is closed by the diaphragm board 27, and these valves are controlled from the usual tracker bar 24, illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1, the openings of the tracker bar being connected by means of tubes 26, 26 and suitable passages within the block 29 to the chambered diaphragm board 27.

This player action mechanism just referred to and designated generally by the reference character B in Fig. 1 is not specifi- -ally described or claimed in this application, as the subject matter is fully disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 230,417, filed April 24, 1918, of

which the present application is a division. The pneumatics 21, 22 are collapsed by the admission of air to the action through the perforations in the music sheet and the holes in the tracker bar, in a manner more particularly described in my co-pending ap plication above mentioned. As the pneumatics collapse, their lower movable parts or leaves are raised, and this movement is transmitted to the corresponding units of the piano action A, in such a manner that the strings are properly struck by the hammers. For this purpose, each of the stickers or abstracts 18 of the piano action is adapted to be actuated by a rigid striker on the corresponding pneumatic. pneuniatics, in the form rigid striker constituted by a cleat or striker arm 55 rigidly secured by a screw 56 to the under surface of the movable leaf of the pneumatic at the rear of said leaf. A part of the cleat extends rearwardly beyond the leaf shown, has a small,

and under a button 57 carried by a bracket 7 58 that is rigidly secured by a screw 59 or the like to the front edge of the correspondingsticker 18. The button 57 has a layer of felt 57 on its lower surface, adapted to be struck by a striker or clcat The brackets 58 are secured to and are a part of the piano action as distinguished from the player action, the elements referred to by the terms piano action and player action having been designated by the letters A and 1 respectively, and described in detail above. The normal position of the parts is shown in Fig. 1, from which it will be evident that as the upper pneumatic 21 is collapsed, the button 57 (and bracket rigidly secured thereto) will be raised, thereby carrying upward the sticker 18 to a suiiicient extent to operate the hammer 10. The brackets 58 appurtenant to the pneinnatics 22 of the lower tier arearranged in line with those appurtenant Each of the upper.

tier in secured thereto by screws 62.

to the upper neumatics, and the lower pneumatics are provided with rigid striker arms which extend up into cooperation with the corresponding brackets 58, it being understood that by preference the single line between the cleats or strikers with which they alternate. The strikers of both the upper and lower tiers are preferably made of: wood, and their upper striking surfaces, cooperating with the buttons 57, are preterably slightly curved. so as to make the most advantageous striking contact with the buttons on the brackets 58. The buttons 57 are vertically adjustable. inasmuch as they are provided with threaded stems or shanks 57 engaging threads in the respective wooden brackets. threaded shanks are provided with manipu lating heads 57, which enable them to be screwed up or down, 'i. toward or away from the cooperating rigid strikers 55 or 55 In this manner, a very nice adjustment of the player action can be obtained after the same has been installed in the piano case, and all lost motion between the pneumatics and the correspoiulin stickers can be readily taken up, so that a tully elle tlve actuation of the piano action unit by the corresponding player action unit will be insured. On the other hand, in ord to prevent an upward movement of the st r beyond the extcntrequired. a suitable s.op mechanism is provided. Preferably, this stop mechanism cooperates with the brackets 58 or parts thereof, and is in the term of a rail having a phnralityol iiulcpendently just-able stop members. ln the example shown. a stop rail (i extends acro. -:,l in close abutting relation to the upp ices ot' the pneumatics 21 of the uppcr tier at the rear of said pneumatics and lengthwise of the piano; The rail (it) may be supported by brackets 61 at the ends of the player action, as shown in Fig. 3, said bra kcts extending alongside the end pnenniatics ot' the upper parallel relation thereto and having their rear ends underlying the rail (it) and At their forward ends, the supporting brackets are preterably interposed and secured between the connecting rails i l. 4-7, The rail 60 carries a plurality of stops 63, preferably constituted At their upper ends, the

ltii

63 is parallel to and opposes by buttons similar, to the buttons having threaded shanks (53 engaging screw threaded openings in the stop rail and provided at their upper ends with manipulating heads 63*. The rear part of the stop rail projects beyond the upper pneumatics, so as to overhang the same, and stops 63 are supported by the overhanging portion of the rail with the buttons below the stop rail and the manipulating heads 63 above the same, where they are readily accessible. The brackets 58 on the stickers are preferably substantially L-shaped, the upper leg being attached to the sticker by the screw 59 and the lower leg carrying the adjustable striker contacting button 57. The lower leg of the bracket is preferably beveled at its upper face in a direction rearwardly and upwardly toward the sticker, and the corresponding stop but ton 63 on the stop rail is arran ed in opposing relation, so that its lower elted surface the beveled surface on the bracket slightly in front of the threaded stem 57". When the corresponding pneumatic is collapsed, the sticker is raised until the beveled surface of the 1 bracket engages the under surface of the reason of the cooperation stop button, which canbe adjusted by manipulation of the shank 63, so that the upward movement of the sticker is arrested at exactly the proper point.

It will be understood that by arranging all of the brackets '58 in one row, a single stop rail will suflice for limiting the movement of all the various piano action units actuated by the pneumatic player action, by of the stop rail with all of the brackets. Nevertheless, the

striker mechanism, on the other hand, or, in

other words, the means for striking the brackets, is of the very simplest construction, because the cleats rigidly applied to the upper pneumatics are of the simplest form and of very small size, while the cleats of the pneumatics of the lower series merely have to be equipped with a relatively-small upper extension which, in the process of manufacture, can be readily applied to or formed integral with. the main partof the cleat attached to the movable leaf. The brackets 58 will, of course, be attached to the stickers at the most convenient height. and the player action is thereby adapted to pianos of different heights.

The arrangement described is extremely compact, takes up very little room in the piano case, comprises very few parts, and yet provides a very nice adjustment. A minimum number of parts is interposed between each pneumatic and the corresponding piano action unit, and yet the provision for accurately controlling the operation of the stickers and I by is simple, efiicient and generally satisfactory, i T

the elements operated there- Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the claims It will be obvious, for. example, that in certain broad aspects of the invention, it is not essential for the rigid strikers to engage brackets or othermeans on the stickers.

What I claim is:

1. In a player piano, piano action units including wippens and stickers, a wind chest in front of the same, tiers of pneumatics connected tosaid wind chest and extending rearwardly therefrom, means for collapsing said pneumatics, and striker members projecting rigidly from the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers and having striking surfaces located in substantially a single line or series extending across the piano for contacting with said piano action units and thereby actuating the same.

2. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, each including a wippen and a sticker, a wind chestin front of said units, pneumatics operatively connected withsa-id chest and extending rearwardly therefrom, said pneumatics arranged in different tiers, striker members rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics and mounted thereon at the rear ends thereof, and adjustable buttons carried by the piano action'units all in one row and overlying said strikers so as to be lifted thereby when the pneumatics are collapsed, whereby said piano action units are actuated.

3. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, pneumatics operativcly connected with said wind chest and extending rearwardly therefrom, striker members rigid with movable leaves of said pneumatics, said. pneumatics arranged in different tiers, and contact members on the respective piano action units adapted to be engaged by said strikers for actuating said units and all arranged in one tier.

4. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, pneumatics arranged in tiers and extending rearwardly from said wind chest, striker members rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics. the striker members of the pneumatics of a lower tier having their striking surfaces in approximately the same horizontal plane as the striker members of the pneumatics of the upper tier, and contact members on the respective piano action units adapted to be engaged by the striker members.

5. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, tiers of pneumatics operatively connected to said chest and extending rearwardly therefrom. striking projections extending rearwardly and rigidly from the i all) i &

movable leaves of the pneumatics, and having striking surfaces located substantially in asingle line extending across the piano to engage and actuate the respective piano action units.

6. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, pneumatics projecting rearwardly from said wind chest and having their movable leaves lowermost, said pncumatics ara11ged in different tiers, strikers attached to but rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers at the rear ends thereof, said strikers having their striking surfaces all lying in substantially a single horizontal plane, and adjustable contact but tons engageable by said strikers and carried by the piano action units above the latter, said buttons all arranged in a single tier.

7. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, pneumatics projecting rearwardly from said chest toward said units and arranged in upper and lower tiers, cleats rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers, said cleats having striking surfaces all located substantially in one tier, and means on said piano action units adapted to be engaged by said striking surfaces for the actuation of said units.

S. In a player piano. a plurality of piano action units,a wind chest in front of the same, tiers of pneumatics operatively con nected to said chest and extending rearwardly therefrom, striking projections extending rearwardly and rigidly from the movable leaves of the pneumatics. and having striking surfaces located sulistantiall in a single horizontal line extending across the piano to engage and actuate the respective piano action units, and adjustable means for taking up lost motion between said striking projections and the corresponding piano action units.

9. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same. tiers of pneun'iatics projecting rearwardly from said chest toward said unit, contact members rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers, the contact members of a lower tier having rigid upward extensions extending into a plane in which the contact members of the pneumatic-s of the upper tier are located, means on said piano action units arranged in substantially a single tier for contact by said contact members. whereby said piano action units are actuated, and means for taking up lost motion between the contact members on the pneumatics and the piano action units.

10, In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units each including a sticker, a wind chest in front of said units, pneumatics operatively connected. with said wind chest and exteinjling rearwardly therefrom and arranged in upper and lower tiers, brackets on said stickers arranged in a single tier, adjustable buttons on said brackets, and striker members rigid with and mounted on the mo able leaves of said pneumatics adapted to engage said buttons.

11. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units including wippens and stickers, a wind chest in front of the same, tiers of pneumatics extending reaiwv'ardly from said wind chest, contact members on said piano action units located in substantially a single line or series extending across the piano for presenting contact surfaces whereby the piano action units are actuated, and striker members carried rigidly by the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers, and having striking parts all located in substantially a single line or series for engagement with said contact surfaces.

19. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units including wippens and stickers, a wind chest in front of the same, tiers of pneumatics extending rearwardly from said wind chest, contact members on said piano action units located in substantially a single line or series extending across the piano for presenting contact surfaces whereby the piano action units are actuated, and striker members carried rigidly by the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers, and having striking parts all located in substantially a single line or series for engagement with said contact surfaces, and means for adjusting relatively to each other the striking surfaces of the rigid strikers of the pneuniatics of said tiers, and the contact surfaces of the corresponding piano action units.

13. in a player piano.a plurality of piano action units, a pneumatic player action for actuating the same including player pneumatics, and means carried by and forming; an integral part of the said player action for limiting the movement of said piano action units by said. player action, said means lying closely adjacent the fixed leaves of the player pneumatics.

14-. In a playe action, a plurality of piano action units, a pneumatic player action for actuating the same im-luding player pneumatics. and stop means secured to and forming a part of said player action to engage said piano action units directly and thereby restrict the movement of the same, said, stop means lying closely adjacent the fixed leaves of the player pneumatics. I

15. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a pneumatic player action for actuating the same including player pneumatics, and means including a stop rail forming a part of said player action and extending across the latter, for limiting the movement of said piano action units, said stop rail abutting the fixed leaves of the player pneumatics.

16. In a player pianoga piano action in cluding wippens and stickers, a player action having tiers ofpneumatics,-means on said stickers arranged, in a single series and engaged by said player action for actuating the piano action, and and forming part of said player action extending across the piano in proximity to said engaged means to limit the operation of the piano action units.

17. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units including stickers, a pneumatic player action having tiers of pneumatics, brackets on said stickers arranged in a single series, means for actuating said piano action units from said player action by lifting said brackets and a stop device on said player action cooperating with said brackets to limit the movement of said piano action units.

18. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units including wippens and stickers, a pneumatic player action including tiers of pneumatics, brackets on said stickers arranged in substantially a single line or series across the piano, striking means operable from the pneumatics of said tiers for lifting said brackets and thereby said stickers, and means including a stop rail connected to and forming part of said player action and extending across said brackets to be engaged thereby so as to limit the opera tion of said piano action units.

l9. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a player action including tiers of pneumatics, means including a single series of adjustable contact buttons having their contact surfaces lowermost for imparting the movement of the pneumatics of said tiers to said piano action units, said contact buttons having adjusting shanks with upwardly disposed manipulating heads which are accessible from above when the player action is in place in the piano, and means including adjustable stop buttons located in front of said contact buttons for limiting the operation of said pneumatics independently of said contact buttons; said stop buttons having shanks with manipulating heads similar and in proximity to the manipulating heads of the contact buttons.

20. In a player piano, a piano action, a player action including player pneumatics, and means attached to and forming part of said player action and extending across the piano in front of the units of the piano action to limit the operation of said units, said means abutting the fixed leaves of the player pneumatics.

21. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units including stickers, a wind chest in front of said units, pneumatics arranged in upper and lower tiers extending rearmeans connected to muddy from said wind chest, striker members rigid with the movable leaves of the pneumatics of said tiers, the striker 'members of the pneumatics of the lower tier having their striking surfaces in substantially the same horizontal plane as the striking surfaces of the striker members of the pneumatics of the upper tier, and bracket members attached to the stickers of the piano action units, all in one tier, and adapted to be engaged by said striking surfaces.

22. In a player piano,a plurality of piano action units including stickers, brackets on said stickers, a player action including player pneumatics having means to engage said brackets for actuating the piano action, and a stop rail attached to and forming part of said player action above said brackets in close proximity to the fixed leaves of said player pneumatics and adapted to be engaged by said brackets for limiting the movement of the stickers.

23. In a player piano, a piano action, a player action for operating the same, comprising a plurality of pneumatics arranged in tiers, and a stop member extending across and in close proximity to the pneumatics of the upper tier and disposed slightly rearwardly thereof for engagement by the piano action units whereby the movement of said piano action units by means of the pneumatics is limited.

24. In a player piano, a plurality of piano action units, a wind chest in front of the same, pneumatics arranged in tiers and extending rearwardly from said wind chest, striker members rigid with the movable leaves of said pneumatics, the striker members of the lower tier having their striking surfaces located in substantially the same horizontal plane as the striking surfaces of the striker members of the upper tier, contact members on said piano action units adapted to be engaged by said striking surfaces, and a stop member secured to and forming a part of the player action and located above the pneumatics of the upper tier for engagement by the piano action units whereby the movement of the piano action units by the pneumatics is limited.

25. A pneumatic player action, for operating the piano action of a player piano, including striker pneumatics arranged in a plurality of tiers, arms rigidly secured to the movable leaves of said striker pneumatics, said arms being provided with striking surfaces, the striking surfaces of the arms of the different tiers all normally lying in a horizontal plane.

26. A pneumatic player action for operating the piano action of a player piano, including striker pneumatics arranged in a plurality of tiers, striker arms engaging and rigidly secured directly to the movable leaves of said striker pneumatics, said arms being provided with striking surfaces, the striking 28. A striker arm, for attachment to the surfaces or" the arms of the different tiers all movable leaf of a striker pneumatic, comnormally lying in a horizontal plane. prising a portion for engagement with the 27. A striker arm, for attachment to the pneumatic and an integral upwardly extendmovable leaf of a striker pneumatic comprising portion contacting directly with a part ing a substantially horizontal portion for enof a piano action unit.

gageinent with the pneumatic and an in- In witness whereof, I'have hereunto set tegral vertically extending portion contactmy hand on the 31 day of July, 1919.

ing directly with a part of a piano action 10 unit. STAN LEY L. FISHER. 

